It’s hard to believe that The Simpsons has been on the air for 30 years. “Am I really that old?” you may ask yourself. If you remember when the first family of Springfield made their TV debut then yes, yes you are.

We owe a lot to the cartoon kings of the Fox network. They did basically raise us. Yessir, we’ve learned all sorts of life lessons from the fictional inhabitants of Springfield, on important subjects like marriage, school, work, family and owning exotic pets (RIP Pinchy).

They’ve also done more than their share to expand our vocabulary. Without their thirty years of hilariously creative vernacular, we’d hardly be able to express ourselves. Here are The Simpsons expressions and sayings we use most often–and sometimes without even realizing it.

Meh

Thanks for this one, Simpsons. How we were describing average meals and below-average dates before this three-letter word came along, we know not.

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Yoink

Heard most often at the dinner table. Somebody sitting next to you has tater tots when you foolishly ordered a salad? Yoink! Last bread roll in the bowl? Yoink!

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D’Oh!

It’s like oops, but more so. Good for toe stubs, locked-in-car keys, or discovering you’re out of beer after the beer store has closed.

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You don’t win friends with salad

Unless, of course, they’re vegan, in which case you may be able to win them with it…

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Craptacular

Anything that makes a swear word more socially acceptable is alright by us.

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Hey-Diddly-Ho

Probably the most cheerful of greetings, and one we often use on our own neighbours.

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Everything’s coming up Milhouse!

Use this whenever anything remotely good happens, like finding a toonie in your coat pocket, seeing a rainbow, or when it floods and you’re wearing flood pants.

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Cromulent

We were all a little “embiggened” during the seventh season when we adopted the term “cromulent.” Despite what spell check tells you, this IS a perfectly cromulent word.

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Ha ha

Okay, so they didn’t teach us the words ha and ha in order, but put a certain inflection on it–say of a certain cartoon bully–and it’s unmistakable. Your pain is our amusement.

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I am so smart. S-M-R-T

The thing is, even though this was born of Homer nearly burning the house down, you can actually use it when you are being smart. A+ on an exam: S-M-R-T. Promotion at work: S-M-R-T.

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You choo-choo-choose me

Every Valentine’s Day we find ourselves quoting Ralph Wiggum with this catchy and kitschy little one-liner. Trains, so romantic.

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They taste like burning

Okay, so don’t just quote Ralph on V-Day. He’s got some great lines that work year round. Like after eating anything spicy.

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Why you little!

Do not, we repeat, do not choke your kids. Ever. Period. But you can totally use this expression when they misbehave.

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Excellent

Sorry Bill and Ted, but the most iconic utterance of the word “excellent” belongs to the richest man in town, Mr. Burns. Don’t forget to steeple your fingers for full effect while using this one.

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Worst. (insert noun). Ever.

Comic Book Guy is a bit of a cynic, it’s true, but sometimes stuff is just, you know, the worst.

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Ay caramba!

Bart may not have created this–the Spanish did that–but he did popularize it. We’re bilingual now, right?

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Did we miss your favourite Simpsons phrase? Let us know in the comments below.

Catch up on The Simpsons, Monday-Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET, and also Monday-Thursday at 9 p.m. ET., on MUCH.